HSC Classical Greek Continuers key terms

Wrath, especially the sustained, destructive anger of a god or hero. In epic it names the opening theme of the Iliad, the anger of Achilles that drives the plot and brings suffering to the Achaeans.

Ruinous blindness or delusion sent by a god, leading a person to act against their own interest. It often explains how a great figure oversteps and then suffers, and is closely tied to ideas of fate and divine causation.

Outrage, violent arrogance, or the overstepping of limits set by custom and the gods. It typically involves treating others with contempt and is a standard term for the behaviour that invites divine punishment and disaster.

Righteous indignation or the resentment felt at another's undeserved success or arrogant behaviour. It can be felt by humans or gods and expresses the sense that excessive good fortune provokes a corrective response.

Honour, esteem, or the material recognition of worth, such as a prize share or ritual offering. In heroic society a slight to one's honour is a serious injury, and disputes over honour drive much of the epic action.

A prize of honour, the special share awarded to a leader or warrior as public recognition of status. Taking such a prize away is an insult to the recipient's standing rather than mere loss of property.

Fame, glory, or the report of great deeds that survives the individual. It is a central heroic value, won through achievement and song, and often set against the brevity of a warrior's life.

Excellence or virtue, the quality of performing well the role one has. In Homer it is often martial prowess; in later prose and philosophy it can mean moral or civic excellence and is a frequent subject of analysis.

Self-control, moderation, and soundness of mind, especially restraint of desire and obedience to proper limits. It is a key civic and ethical virtue in fifth-century thought and appears often in prose and tragedy.

Envy or jealousy, the pain felt at another's good fortune. It can describe human resentment of the powerful or the gods' dislike of excessive human prosperity, and it is a common explanatory motif in historiography and tragedy.

A city-state, meaning both the urban centre and the political community of citizens with its laws and institutions. Understanding its civic, religious, and military structures is essential for reading Greek prose and oratory.

The people, the common citizen body, or the assembly of citizens in a democracy. In Athenian contexts it can mean the sovereign people as a political power, and it is often contrasted with oligarchic or aristocratic groups.

The assembly of citizens with power to decide policy, especially at Athens. Its meetings, procedures, and speakers are frequently described or alluded to in historical and rhetorical texts on the prescribed list.

A public speaker or politician who addresses the assembly or courts, in Athens often a man who regularly proposes policy. The term carries connotations of persuasive skill and, in hostile sources, of manipulation for personal gain.

Law, custom, or established convention. Greek authors often contrast written law with unwritten custom and with nature, and the term is central to debates about justice, legitimacy, and the ordering of a community.

Justice, the right order of things, or a legal case and its penalty. It can denote the abstract principle of fairness, the process of litigation, or the retribution that follows wrongdoing.

An embassy or delegation sent to negotiate, request help, or deliver a message on behalf of a state. Embassies and their speeches are frequent set pieces in historical narrative and provide material for comprehension questions.

An alliance or league formed for mutual military support. Alliances and their obligations, breaches, and shifting loyalties are recurring causes of conflict in Greek historical writing and require attention to precise terminology.

To announce, report, or carry a message. Messenger speeches reporting off-stage or distant events are a standard feature of tragedy and history, and the verb and its compounds often signal crucial narrative turns.

A messenger, the character or figure who reports events that the audience cannot see. Messenger scenes in tragedy and prose narratives typically deliver decisive news and are important for both comprehension and dramatic analysis.

The reporting of an event by a messenger, or the messenger speech itself as a formal element of dramatic structure. Analysing such speeches involves noting their position, content, and effect on other characters.

Civil strife or factional conflict within a community, as opposed to war against an external enemy. The term is important in historical and political analysis, where internal division is treated as a grave threat to a city.

Becoming, fitting, or appropriate to a person or situation. The idea of what is fitting underlies much ancient criticism of character and speech, including the principle that words and actions should suit the speaker's status.

Character, habitual disposition, or the moral quality of a person as revealed in words and actions. In literary analysis it denotes the portrayal of character, including how a speaker's manner is made persuasive or revealing.

Suffering, emotion, or an experience that moves an audience. In analysis of speeches and drama it refers to the emotional effect produced on hearers or spectators, often contrasted with reasoned argument.

Pity or compassion, one of the emotions tragedy is said to arouse and purge. In rhetorical and dramatic analysis the term helps describe how a speaker or dramatist manipulates the audience's sympathy for the suffering.

Fear, dread, or terror, both a common human response and, in criticism of tragedy, one of the emotions the genre is said to evoke. It can also mean the object that causes fear or a source of alarm.

Dissimulation or irony, especially the habit of saying less than one means while pretending ignorance. In analysis of Greek prose and drama it describes a speaker's deliberate understatement or feigned simplicity for persuasive or comic effect.

Word, speech, account, argument, or reason. The wide range of meanings requires attention to context; it can denote a narrative, a reasoned explanation, a ratio, or the faculty of rational speech in philosophical writing.

A story, tale, or traditional narrative, and in some contexts a plot or the shaping of events. It contrasts with logos as story contrasts with reasoned account, and it often refers to the inherited body of heroic legend.

Pleasure or enjoyment, whether bodily or intellectual. It is a standard term in ethical discussion and in analysis of persuasion, where a speaker may appeal to what an audience finds pleasant rather than true.

To do well or fare well, a common Greek idiom for being successful or prosperous. Because it can mean either acting rightly or faring happily, context decides the sense, and the ambiguity is sometimes exploited in prose.

Happiness, flourishing, or living well, understood as the goal of human life in much ethical thought. It is not merely a feeling but a condition of successful activity, and its definition is debated in philosophical and rhetorical texts.

The paired particles that mark a contrast or balance between two clauses, often rendered 'on the one hand ... on the other'. Tracking them is essential for construing long Greek sentences and for following an author's argument.

A particle introducing explanation, cause, or confirmation, usually translated 'for' or 'since'. It signals that the clause explains what precedes, and misreading it can distort the logic of an argument in comprehension questions.

A particle marking inference, consequence, or resumption, often rendered 'therefore', 'then', or 'so'. It shows how a sentence follows from or continues what came before, and its force varies with position in the clause.

A particle used with subjunctive, optative, or past indicative forms to mark conditionality, potentiality, or customary past action. Its presence changes the mood and meaning of a clause, so identifying its construction is a core syntactic skill.

The conjunction 'if', introducing conditional clauses that may be open, remote, or unfulfilled depending on the mood and tense of the verb. Recognising the type of condition is essential for accurate translation of prose and verse.

A conjunction meaning 'in order that' or 'so that', normally followed by the subjunctive or optative in a purpose clause. Distinguishing purpose from result and from indirect command is a frequent grammar question in unseen passages.

A conjunction meaning 'when', 'since', or 'after', introducing temporal or causal clauses. Its sense depends on the mood of its verb and on context, and it often marks a turning point in narrative or argument.